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Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences has opened its 2026 Codeshare Teaching and Learning Summer School, a three-week online programme designed to connect students across institutions and countries through shared university courses. The programme runs from Monday, 10 August, to Friday, 28 August 2026.
The summer school is built around a simple idea: students from different universities can study together in a common virtual classroom, even when they are located in different countries. The 2026 programme brings together Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, the University of Cape Coast in Ghana and Hochschule Koblenz’s RheinAhrCampus in Germany.
All courses are taught in English. Eligible students from Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg and the partner institutions can participate without tuition fees, while successful completion can lead to two or three ECTS credit points, depending on the course requirements. Participants also receive a certificate of participation.
Three tracks for a changing economy
The programme is organised around three broad themes: sustainability, AI and data science, and business and management. That combination reflects the way many professional and academic questions now overlap. Environmental challenges require organisational and financial decisions; artificial-intelligence tools are changing business practice; and future managers increasingly need to understand both technology and social responsibility.
The first week, from 10 to 14 August, includes a sustainability course on design thinking and sustainable innovation. Students work with a human-centred approach to identifying problems, developing ideas, building prototypes and testing possible solutions. The programme also offers an AI and data science course focused on AI and big-data projects in finance, alongside a business and management course led by academics from the University of Cape Coast.
Later weeks widen the subject range. The second week includes a course on financing the circular economy and another on agentic AI in finance. A presentation and rhetorical-skills course examines the use of AI tools in professional communication. The final week turns to sustainability strategies, practical applications of ChatGPT and other AI tools in science and business, and international career building.
Learning beyond the regular timetable
H-BRS presents Codeshare as an extension of the normal university curriculum rather than a replacement for degree study. The online format allows students to join courses beyond the subjects normally available at their home institution. It also gives smaller groups the option of meeting locally on campus while taking part in the shared online sessions.
The courses combine synchronous teaching with preparation, follow-up work and group assignments where required. This structure is intended to make the programme more than a sequence of online lectures. Students are expected to collaborate across institutional and cultural boundaries, communicate in English and apply ideas to practical cases.
For students, the international setting offers a relatively accessible form of academic mobility. Participants do not need to relocate for several weeks, yet they can work with lecturers and fellow students from other countries. H-BRS says the programme is intended to strengthen intercultural communication, international experience and confidence in studying in English.
A practical model for cross-university teaching
The summer school also illustrates how universities can use digital teaching to share specialist courses and build partnerships. Instead of each institution offering an entirely separate programme, the participating universities contribute lecturers, subjects and student groups to one combined learning environment.
That model is especially relevant for short courses in fast-changing areas. Sustainability, artificial intelligence and data science develop quickly, and students can benefit when teaching includes perspectives from more than one institution or national context. The programme’s design also encourages students to consider the social and organisational consequences of technology rather than treating technical skills in isolation.
Codeshare does not promise a single solution to the challenges of international higher education. Its value is more concrete: it creates a defined period in which students can earn recognised credits, practise international collaboration and explore subjects outside their usual timetable. The 2026 edition continues until 28 August, with three consecutive course weeks covering sustainability, AI and data science, and management.
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